Guided tour with Dr Angela Pfennig | Meeting point: Klausdorf | Prohner Straße 20, car park by the park | Admission: 9 euros

The reconstructed espalier orchard in Klausdorf Manor Park is home to old and fine varieties of tree and shrub fruit, planted in four beds, each approximately 70 metres long. These include berries, shrub fruit and pome fruit, as well as varieties grown on wall espaliers. The wall-trained section features table grapes such as Müller-Thurgau, Sylvaner and Bacchus (Frühe Scheurebe), a cross between Sylvaner and Riesling, and Müller-Thurgau. The garden was laid out in 2007/2008 with the support of the municipality of Klausdorf. The fruit varieties were selected by Dr Karl-Alfred Lein (1941–2018). A trained farmer, he studied biology and plant breeding; in his youth he lived for several years within the ancient walls of a knight’s castle and later became the manager of two experimental fruit-growing estates. After his working life, he found a new home in the cultural and natural landscape of the Vorpommern Bodden coast. Following reunification, he settled in Hohendorf and trained as a guide for the estate village and estate park.

Following a historical model – espalier fruit walls were widespread in the commercial kitchen gardens of the West Pomeranian estates in the 19th century – Dr Lein set about launching a project to create an espalier fruit garden. When his health no longer allowed him to continue managing the garden, the project was taken over in 2015, drawing on the fruit-growing expertise and commitment of several local residents, with Heidi Griebenow from Klausdorf acting as the point of contact for organisational matters. This made it possible to preserve the espalier fruit garden.